Everything You Always Wanted to Know about God

August 29, 2005
There's an old conservative Christian saying, "God said it, I believe it and that settles it." Metaxas—a New York humor and children's book writer—doesn't use it, but employs that attitude in writing this cheeky question-and-answer book addressing the most common questions people have about God. Metaxas writes from an evangelical Christian perspective as he discusses the authority of the Bible, salvation and concepts such as heaven, hell, angels and demons. He admits early on that this book idea is "patently insane"; however, he "took a crack at" answering the kinds of questions he is asked all the time in his work as a writer and speaker. Without a doubt, Metaxas is a clever and straightforward writer, fielding jokes right and left before hitting the reader with the hard stuff. ("Q: What happens when you die? A: Well it depends, but typically the lawn goes unmowed for a while...") He then more seriously replies that we are either welcomed into God's presence in heaven or banished for eternity to hell. Metaxas gets high marks for wit but fails to explore the wide range of beliefs that devout Christians hold today.